The Department of Homeland Security shutdown is on day 46, and while TSA agents are now getting paid thanks to President Trump's executive order, there are 15 other agencies that fall under the Department of Homeland Security, which employs about 260,000 people.
These include Citizen and Immigration Services, FEMA, the Secret Service, CISA, which is the lead cybersecurity agency for the U.S., and the U.S. Coast Guard, the only branch of the military to be funded by DHS.
Now Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, the official relief organization for the Coast Guard, is stepping in to help civilian employees survive this funding gap.
"They're happy that these TSA agents who are on the front lines of keeping our nation safe every day are getting paid," said Donnie Brzuska, communications officer for CGMA. "However, I would say they feel forgotten. That really starts to wear on you, especially as you've gone 6 weeks without a paycheck, and you feel like nobody has heard your story. Nobody knows the challenges that you're facing. And again, that just reduces your focus on the mission."
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During this shutdown, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance has received over 600 requests for help, totaling over $1.8 million.
Active duty Coast Guard members are still getting paid on the 1st and the 15th of every month, but even active duty Coast Guard has some uncertainty around those paychecks because the money is not coming from regular appropriations.
During the fall 2025 shutdown, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the One Big Beautiful Bill would be used to pay active duty Coast Guard members. It's unclear if that same authority is being used now.
Scripps News has confirmed that active duty Coast Guard members did receive their paycheck on Wednesday, but for the rest of the Department of Homeland Security, there's a lot of uncertainty about when their next paycheck might come.
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